Workers removed a statue of late French charity icon Abbe Pierre from its pedestal in a small village in eastern France on Tuesday, marking his dramatic fall from grace after a slew of abuse allegations spanning five decades.
“There was no debate” about removing the life-size resin statue, Mayor Denis Mailler of Norges-la-Ville north of Dijon said.
He added that a vote last week on the village council had been “unanimous”.
Abbe Pierre, a Capuchin monk since 1932 and an ordained Catholic clergyman since 1938, died in 2007 aged 94.
Born Henri Groues, Abbe Pierre (whose name means Abbot Pierre) was an icon in France — a friend to the poverty-stricken and the founder of the charities Emmaus and the Abbe Pierre Foundation.
But salvoes of abuse allegations have blackened his name in recent months, with women publicly reporting assaults ranging from groping to rape and “sexual contact with a child”.
Since the allegations surfaced, many associated with the cleric have scrambled to distance themselves from their fallen hero.
At least some bishops in France’s Catholic Church knew as early as 1955-57 — nearly seven decades ago — of “serious behaviour towards women” by Abbe Pierre, the head of the country’s CEF bishops’ conference, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, wrote in Le Monde daily on Monday.
He said “measures were taken, including psychiatric treatment” and Abbe Pierre was quietly assigned a companion to prevent him from misbehaving.
This was “a robust reaction, given the way things were done at that time”, De Moulins-Beaufort argued.
The removal of Abbe Pierre’s statue from the spot where it had stood since 2013 near Norges-la-Ville’s town hall is particularly telling, as the village of 940 people hosts the second-largest branch of the Emmaus charity in France.
Emmaus provides accommodation to people who are struggling or marginalised and helps them find work.
‘No problem for us’
“Abbe Pierre represented a lot to me. He was a symbol. It’s the fall of a symbol,” mayor Mailler said.
“There was nothing else we could do, for obvious reasons.”
Mailler was unable to say immediately what would happen to the statue, which is being stored for now in the village’s workshop alongside lawnmowers and other gardening equipment.
Emmaus’ community in Norges can accommodate up to 120 marginalised people. It also hosts a drop-off and sales point for second-hand items and a recycling centre.
Removing the statue “is no problem for us”, the centre’s boss Bernard Quaretta told AFP.
“We’re an Emmaus community, not Abbe Pierre’s community.”
He said it was “up to the town council” what happens to the statue.
Local sculptor Yves Roulleau, who created the statue, was also happy for his work to be taken off public display.
“They let me know in advance and I had no problem accepting the decision,” Roulleau said.
When the statue was put up “France was still in shock over (Abbe Pierre’s) death. After what’s come to light, things are completely different,” he added.
Roulleau even suggested it might be appropriate to destroy the statue altogether, although the decision lies with the council.
Meanwhile the producers and artistic crew behind the 2023 biopic “L’Abbe Pierre: Une vie de combats” (“Abbe Pierre: A Life of Combats”) on Tuesday condemned the cleric’s “crimes” which, they said, were “obviously unknown” to them and French people when the film was shot.
“We condemn these crimes and wish to express with force our complete support for Abbe Pierre’s many victims,” they said in a statement.
At the time of the film’s release lead actor Benjamin Lavernhe said he had “fallen in love” with the character.
“He’s a revolutionary, a man on the move who leads crowds,” Lavernhe said.
Last year’s film was the second biopic dedicated to the cleric after a 1989 effort starring Lambert Wilson, known internationally mostly thanks to his role as the Merovingian in “The Matrix”. (AFP).
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